Nightcrawler: Cents-less Acts of Audio

They may put the squeeze on you at the pump again this summer, but here are at least three cents-less acts of audio, on tap this month to please the most ardent of penny pinchers.

In addition to boasting one of the largest fireworks displays in the region (on Sunday, July 7), Enfield’s Fourth of July town celebration has garnered a reputation for packing its Family Ford Stage with some equally high power acts. The trend continues with the 2013 installment as local notables Quintera and Johnny Six Gun fill out evenings amongst national notables Mark Farner (of Grand Funk Railroad fame) and The Outlaws and tribute kings The Machine and Get The Led Out. Admission to all shows is free and patrons are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs. Pets, coolers and alcohol not purchased at the event are not allowed. For a full of list of performers, times and more, kindly point your browser to enfieldcelebration.org.

The following week, July 11 to be exact, the Springfield Business Improvement District (springfielddowntown.com) rolls out its free outdoor Stearns Square concert series downtown. Jeff Pitchell & The Texas Flood get the opening honors, with Taj Mahal (July 18) and Journey sound-alikes The Great Escape rounding out the month. The series continues through Sept. 12 and all shows take place rain or shine at 6-9:30 p.m.

On June 29, Charles Neville—one quarter of New Orleans’ first family of funk, The Neville Brothers—kicked off a new workshop he is offering for free at The Performance Project at 5 Taylor Street in Springfield.

“I’m hoping to share some facts about life as a musician in the Jim Crow South as well as some info about the creative process of music,” Neville tells the Crawler.

The next occurs at the same venue from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 21. Not only is this event free, but Neville says that all attendees should feel free to bring their instruments of choice, too. For more info, visit performanceproject.org.

As promised: the final installment from the Crawler’s epic Aaron Lewis interview. The hometown hero had previously expounded on his local show and his It Takes A Community Foundation that benefited from it. As is often the case with Lewis—and perhaps apropos considering the impending holiday—the conversation turned a tad patriotic, with a little prodding.

When he was fronting Staind full-time, the Crawler often asked Lewis if he’d ever consider a move to L.A. Now that he’s country, is Nashville tempting him? The area and the industry do seem to be a lot more in line with his blue-collar work ethic and political leanings, after all. The following was Lewis’ …state of the union, shall we say?

Aaron Lewis: “You know, I like where I live. I just don’t like the state that it’s in. As the state of Massachusetts, we should really be ashamed of ourselves. I mean, this is where it all began: the Boston Tea Party, the revolution for taking our country from England so we would have our own. Our political stance [now] is appalling. And as regular people living in this country enjoying the freedoms that are being stepped on by a government that shouldn’t even have the overwhelming control we have allowed it to have, we can’t afford to sit idly by any more.

“It’s time to wake the fuck up before it’s all gone and we have a country just like all the European countries that people have been leaving as fast as they can to get here since our inception. Still to this day, people immigrate from other countries to here to get away from the exact things that some people are trying to turn this country into. That’s it, I’m done.”

Looking at the word counter, it appears we are done once again, too. For the record, the Crawler asked Lewis if we would see any shows or new recordings from Staind in the foreseeable future. He maintains that the band’s official status remains “on hiatus” and wishes his guitarist, Mike Mushok, all the best on his current tour with Metallica bassist Jason Newsted.•